Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND) is joining hands with private corporations and financial firms to support strengthening the presence of Korean corporations in the global urban development market.
KIND said on Mar. 12 that it signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen competitiveness in global urban development projects with Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Korea Investment Real Asset Management (KIRA) at the Park One building in Yeouido, Seoul, on Feb. 27.
The agreement was pursued to combine KIND's policy support and risk management capabilities in the public institutional sector with the private sector's engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and financial structuring capabilities, in order to maximize the competitiveness of "Team Korea" in the global market.
Under the agreement, the three companies, including KIND, will designate as priority cooperation targets projects totaling 1.2 trillion won that are underway in major global hubs such as the United States, New Zealand, Australia and Bulgaria, and will begin detailed reviews for joint investment and development. The target projects are high–value-added, investment-development-type (PPP) urban development projects, including dwellings development, rental operations and remodeling.
Within this cooperation framework, KIND will serve as a bridge for public-private collaboration. Specifically, it will provide ▲ participation as a financial investor ▲ support for securing project rights through government-to-government (G2G) cooperation ▲ advisory services on financial structuring, aiming to resolve uncertainties in overseas markets that private corporations find difficult to enter alone and to enhance project stability.
As a strategic investor, Hyundai Engineering & Construction will provide technical reliability through construction and construction management (CM), while KIRA will design the optimal funding structure by acting as financial arranger and handling asset management, completing the synergy between the public and private sectors.
A KIND official said, "This agreement will serve as an opportunity to showcase to the world a successful investment-development model that combines the corporation's policy support capabilities with the private sector's outstanding technological and financial strength," adding, "As a public institution, we will continue to faithfully serve as a priming pump so that our corporations can generate high–value-added revenue in urban development projects."